Only governors have the power to order lockdown of states - Nigerian Governors’ Forum
- The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has reacted to the president locking down some states
- The governors in a statement queried the legality of the lockdown order issued by the federal government
- The state leaders vowed to take up the matter with the COVID-19 presidential committee
Following the lockdown order on some states by President Muhammadu Buhari, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) has queried the legality of the directive and has decided to take up the matter with the presidential committee.
This was contained in a communiqué signed by the NGF chairman, Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state and issued at the end of the teleconference meeting.
According to The Sun, the governors' decision to challenge the president’s power to shut down the FCT and two states without the National Assembly's approval followed similar discussions from prominent Nigerians, including Wole Soyinka, Femi Falana and Ebun Adegboruwa.
Source: Twitter
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that the presidency tackled Nigeria's literary giant and Nobel Laureate over his comments on President Muhammadu Buhari’s lockdown order of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Lagos and Ogun states.
Soyinka had on Tuesday, March 31, faulted Buhari's lockdown order and the government's approach to tackling the novel coronavirus pandemic. He took on the president for locking down the two states and the FCT when Nigeria is not in a war situation.
However, reacting on Wednesday, April 1, the presidency said though Soyinka had the right to his own opinion, his intervention was misplaced and misleading, noting that he had strayed away from his professional expertise.
In a related development, Salihu Lukman, the Progressive Governors Forum (PGF) director-general, has asked those still questioning the legality of the lockdown imposed on the FCT, Lagos and Ogun states by the president to focus on the bigger picture.
The DG of the forum in a statement on Wednesday, April 1, explained that Nigerians saying President Muhammadu Buhari should have consulted the National Assembly that's on recess is unrealistic and simplistic.
Similarly, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo reacted to statements by some prominent Nigerians challenging President Buhari's lockdown order over COVID-19.
Osinbajo, responding to this position, pointed out that the president actually has extensive powers under the Quarantine Act of 1926 to order a lockdown when the need calls for it.
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Source: Legit.ng
